Foregut Diseases Program

Houston Methodist Hospital is ranked No. 10 by U.S. News & World Report for digestive diseases and the highest nationally ranked hospital in Texas and the Gulf Coast for digestive diseases. U.S. News & World Report has also named Houston Methodist Hospital the No. 1 hospital in Texas every year since the award began and one of the nation’s best as a nationally ranked Honor Roll hospital.  Learn more.

The Foregut Diseases Program encompasses everything from standard procedures to the most advanced endoscopic and surgical technology. We offer state-of-the-art inpatient and outpatient facilities, helping deliver the best possible outcomes to our patients. 

In 2013, Houston Methodist was one of the first hospitals in the United States to perform the peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM), a less-invasive method for treating swallowing disorders (most commonly achalasia) without incisions. The procedure involves fixing the problem through the mouth using a gastroscope, a thin, flexible camera designed to look into the esophagus and stomach. There’s less sedation, no scarring, little if any pain and patients can return to work in less than a week. We are one of only a handful of hospitals nationwide that performs POEM.

Our experts continuously evaluate patients through comprehensive weekly GI conferences to ensure each patient receives the most appropriate and effective treatment plan. Moreover, Houston Methodist’s clinicians and scientists collaborate to advance discoveries of innovative and personalized treatments.

We also are dedicated to partnering with referring physicians to best preserve the primary patient-physician relationship to ensure seamless return to care following successful completion of treatment. 

The Foregut Diseases Program Offers Patients:

• Collaborative, team approach to the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum
• Comprehensive reflux and motility testing using the latest technology
• Fundoplication, hiatal hernia repair, paraesophageal hernia repair, reoperation for recurrent hernia and LINX procedure
• Minimally invasive esophagectomy
• Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM)
• Opportunities to enroll in the latest clinical research studies related to gastrointestinal disorders
• Patient education
• Recovery and rehabilitation assistance

Conditions Treated

• Achalasia
• Barrett’s esophagus (complication of GERD)
• Complex esophageal strictures
• Dysphagia (difficulty or discomfort swallowing)
• Eosinophilic esophagitis
• Esophageal cancer
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Hiatal hernias
• Premalignant and malignant disorders of the esophagus and stomach

Our Team

Gastroenterology
Alberto Barroso, MD
Sunil Dacha, MD
Andrea Duchini, MD
Gulchin Ergun, MD
Steven J. Frachtman, MD
F. Lyone Hochman, MD, FACP, FRCPC
Sandeep Lahoti, MD
Neha Mathur, MD
Ali Raza, MD
Rachel Schiesser, MD
Peter J. Schwarz, MD
Karen L. Woods, MD

General Surgery
Richard Edward Caplan, MD, FACS
Edward Y. Chan, MD
Ray Chihara, MD, PhD
Gilchrist L. Jackson, MD, FACS
Min Kim, MD
Lee Morris, MD, FACS
Patrick Reardon, MD, FACS
Wade R. Rosenberg, MD, FACS
Vadim Sherman, MD, FACS, FRCS
Nabil Tariq, MD, FACS